Page 23 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
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Lying on my stomach on my bed in Green Gables later that evening, I stared at Melissa’s and Lars’s CVs and interview notes side by side in front of me. There was no pressure to make a decision tonight or even tomorrow, but we did want the chosen candidate to start on Monday and it was only fair to give them as much notice as possible.
With a sigh, I picked up Melissa’s paperwork and flicked through it. I did the same to Lars’s and shook my head. There was only one way to do this. Rolling off the bed, I retrieved a notepad and pen from my desk and started a pros and cons list for each candidate.
Twenty minutes later, I sat back and looked at what I’d written. As anticipated, the pros for both were a long list with very few entries in the cons column. The pros emphasised what I already knew – that they were both strong candidates – but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the cons. On Melissa’s list, I’d writtenDoes she really love books?I scanned down my notes again and it was actually the ones I’d made during Lars’s interview which set off alarm bells about Melissa. When we’d asked Lars about his interest in books, he’d immediately broken into a smile and had waxed lyrical about how important books were in Icelandic culture, visits to the library as a child, how much he loved volunteering at Hutton Wicklow Library now, his floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and the books which had made a lasting impact on him. I’d written down a mixture of the words he’d used and how he’d come across:passionate, animated, part of his culture, lost without books, loves learning/learns something from everything he reads.On Melissa’s interview script, I’d written:mostly reads on holiday.
Holding my hands against my cheeks, I shook my head, a strong niggle in my gut that perhaps Melissa wasn’t the right person for the job. Every single member of staff we had lived and breathed books – it was their passion for books that had led them to apply for a job with us in the first place. Recommendations to customers were an important part of what we did and was undoubtedly one of the reasons the business hadn’t just survived but thrived for nearly forty years. They didn’t need to read across all genres by any means, but they did need to understand the market trends and be able to demonstrate that awareness to customers. Would Melissa be interested enough to do that?
I glanced at the biggest con on Lars’s list:School. Can I get over it?I closed my eyes tightly and scrunched my hands into my curls, releasing a frustrated, ‘Argh!’
If I rejected Lars because of how he’d behaved towards me half a lifetime ago, it seemed spectacularly unfair on him. Melissa’s major con was about her but Lars’s was about me and the hurt I’d clearly been hanging onto. But was it realistic to try to takemeout of the equation? As Dad said earlier, I’d be the one who had to work with him. I had to be comfortable with that and the rest of the team would take my lead. If they sensed any latent hostility towards Lars, it would influence how they felt about him and that wasn’t fair on anyone. We prided ourselves on having created a wonderful place to work with staff who were passionate and loyal. I couldn’t risk jeopardising that.
With another heavy sigh, I checked the time on my phone. I could do with speaking to Cassie. She knew Lars from school and had hated the way he’d treated me, but she’d also encouraged me to interview him, saying he’d likely have changed. It was nearly half ten – time for bed and definitely far too late to ring Cassie – so I’d seek her counsel tomorrow.
Settling down under the duvet a little later, I switched off my bedside lamp and closed my eyes, trying to empty my head of pros and cons lists and focus on going to sleep. But it wasn’t the lists I couldn’t eject from my thoughts – it was Lars’s face.
I’d been nine when I first saw him in the shop, sitting cross-legged on the floor reading the blurb on the back of the latest book in the Harry Potter series –Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He’d sported a blond buzz cut which, with his square jawline and high cheekbones, made him look all angular and spiky. I’d just finished reading the same book and had hovered nearby, trying to decide whether he looked friendly or scary. I watched as he opened up the book and turned to the first page ever so gently. He smiled as he scanned down it and entered a world of witches and wizards and I knew at that moment that he loved books as much as me and that he was definitely going to be a friend rather than a foe. Which he had been until that day behind the sports hall.
At the age of thirty-four, Lars hadgrown into his faceas my Granny Blue would say. His hair had darkened and was long at the top, stylishly swept back from his forehead, with waves at the back, softening his features and accentuating his grey eyes. Those eyes. I’d noticed a sadness and vulnerability in them at school which I hadn’t noticed when we spoke about books in the shop. I had no idea why he was sad but I’d thought that showing him some kindness might help him unburden it, which is why I’d tried on several occasions over the years to befriend him, only to have it thrown back in my face every time.
In bed, I turned onto my side, clutching my duvet to my chest, my heart pounding once more as a buried memory surfaced. That first day at school, I’d wanted Lars’s friendship but as the school years progressed, it became more than that. Even though he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me, I felt drawn to him. Fancied him. My very first crush. And my first broken heart.
13
LILY
‘We’re all in agreement?’ I asked, looking from Dad to Cassie and back to Dad late the following morning.
They confirmed they were so I grabbed the cardboard wallet full of CVs and headed down to the staff room where I flicked the kettle on. Cassie had arrived for her shift an hour ago and, between serving customers, Dad and I had updated her on Lars’s interview last night and the pros and cons of Lars and Melissa as the only two suitable candidates.
I’d awoken this morning from an unsettled night in which I’d drifted in and out of jumbled dreams of my school days, seeing Lars again evidently having triggered the release of several previously forgotten memories. As I dressed, I’d still felt torn between the two candidates but talking it over with Dad and Cassie had helped and we now had a plan with which I felt comfortable.
After sending some hot drinks up in Jeeves, I sat down at the table, removed Melissa’s CV and dialled her number. We’d all agreed that we needed a better understanding of her passion and knowledge for books before we could consider offering her the job but, if she responded well to a few more questions, it was hers.
Melissa answered on the third ring with a cheerful, ‘Melissa Gilchrist speaking.’
‘Hi, Melissa, it’s Lily Appleton from Bay Books. Is it a good time for a quick chat?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘We’ve come to the end of our interviews and have narrowed it down to the final few candidates. I just wanted to check a couple of things with you before we make our decision.’
‘Fire away.’
‘Great. We talked about your interest in books during the interview and I’d just like to explore that a bit further. Is that all right?’
Silence.
‘Melissa? Are you still there?’
‘Yes, erm… Can I be honest with you, Lily?’
‘That would be appreciated.’
‘I don’t really enjoy reading that much. I used to when I was a kid but then I discovered boys and, let’s face it, how many men are turned on by a book geek?’
I stiffened, the smile slipping from my face.Plenty of men, actually. Men who also like books, men who like women who like books, men who…I shook my head to dislodge the train of thought and refocused on what Melissa was saying, although I had a sinking feeling that the niggles I’d had about her last night were about to be proved right.
